In Heat: Dragon Slayer Mating Season

Chapter Two

"This is boring," Cana whined, sitting at a table in the library, surrounded by dusty tomes. No one paid her any mind though, as they sifted through any books relating to dragon slayers they could find. Levy stood on a pile of books on top of a chair as she reached for a book on the very top shelf.

"This looks promising," Levy said, the book finally in hand. It was very old, and the letters resting on yellowed pages were in an archaic version of the alphabet. "Hey, Lucy?"

"Yes?" the girl in question asked, looking up from a book on the migration patterns of dragons. She had her speed reading glasses on, despite not seeming to make any progress.

"Who is Anna Heartfilia?" Levy asked, looking at the name of the author.

"Oh! My mom told me about her!" Lucy said, sidling up to her short friend, examining the book in her hands. "She's an ancestor of the Heartfilia family. She was a very powerful celestial wizard, who also wrote some books on various magics. She's quite an inspiration to me."

"This must be a very old book," Yukino said, as she came over to look at it too.

"About 400 years if I had to guess," Levy said, cracking it open and flipping through sections on how the magic seemed to work and the possible effects of dragonification. "This is very interesting stuff, Lucy. She writes like she personally knew dragons and dragon slayers."

"She's regarded as a genius from the little I know of her. A book I found once said she was contemporary with the time period human Acnologia and Zeref lived," Lucy explained.

"She wasn't immortal though," Cana said. "Makes her achievements more impressive, I think."

"Hmm, I think I found something," Levy said, causing them to gather round as she translated. "Apparently, every 20 years or so, dragons would experience a mating season of sorts, when young male dragons reached maturity and found someone to reproduce with. This effect spread to the humans who used their magic, though to a much lesser extent. While they do become aggressive, it is to a lesser degree than dragons."

"So they probably aren't dangerous?" Yukino asked hopefully.

"No, it seems like they are, but only when it comes to gaining access to whomever they feel strongly about. Actual dragons were also territorial," Levy said, as she continued to read Anna's detailed descriptions. "While some who may not feel a strong connection towards any certain female may choose to go after multiple women or seek out the most attractive person they can find, usually just the special woman in their life is desired."

"Well that's not exactly good news," Cana mused. "None of them have wives or girlfriends."

Lucy frowned, and signaled for Levy to continue.

"Female dragon slayers are hardly affected, though do tend to put off aromatic pheromones towards whomever they're attracted to, as the males do. These pheromones are noted to have aphrodisiac qualities and are difficult to resist."

"So they smell good?" Cana asked, confused.

"What about Wendy?!" Lucy asked, becoming concerned about the younger girl. She was far too young to deal with anything like this.

"Dragon slayers that are too young or too old do not experience these effects at all, though may be perceptive to the causes of aggression in male dragon slayer populations. Elderly dragon slayers are often noted to instinctually hide."

The girls all breathed a sigh of relief. Wendy's involvement would be nothing but trouble if she were included.

"How long is this going to last then?" Lucy asked, her focus shifting to other concerns.

"Looks like about a week, but the faster a dragon slayer is able to claim a mate, the faster they are able to go back to normal," Levy answered, coming to the end of the section. "This is much more detailed than anything we've found all day. I wonder how she knew so much?"

"She was very important, it wouldn't surprise me if she may have been friends with some," Lucy suggested, not knowing nearly enough about the woman.

"Or had one warming her bed," Cana suggested slyly.

"She wrote a handful of books, though until now I'd never seen one," Lucy said, ignoring Cana. "Most of them are said to be the first books of their kind. This is probably one."

"It's definitely the oldest here," Yukino said, looking at the other books they collected.

"Lucy!" came Juvia's voice suddenly, and they turned to see the water mage get shushed by a librarian.

"What's wrong, Juvia?" Lucy asked, clutching Anna's book protectively.

"It's Kinana, she's disappeared. Have you seen her?" Juvia asked frantically. When the girls all shook their heads, she sighed. "She was supposed to take the next shift from Mira 3 hours ago. Lisanna checked her house, but she isn't there and there was no note or indication of where she was going. Mira's very worried."

"I hope she's ok," Levy said sadly.

"Isn't she into one of Jellal's guys? Maybe she's with him," Cana suggested. "Sometimes people are convinced to skip work for a day to canoodle."

"It isn't like her to not call or leave a note, though," Juvia said, concerned.

Lucy paused for a minute, before a thought clicked into place. "Cobra."

"He's a dragon slayer!" Yukino exclaimed, catching on.

"But I thought her guy's name was Erik?" Cana asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"That is his name," Lucy explained. "He's also a Poison Dragon Slayer. He probably took her."

"Should we go after them?" Yukino asked, frowning. "He's tough normally, I can't imagine fighting him in a more aggressive state."

"There's another problem too," Levy said. "A dragon slayer would have the best chance of beating him, but Wendy will be the only one we can trust. Not to mention, the others might try something too."

"What are you talking about?" Juvia asked, not following.

"We think the dragon slayers have entered a mating season where they seek out a female they find desirable to procreate with," Lucy explained succinctly. "That may be why Kinana is missing."

"Her love has taken her to be alone with her?" Juvia asked, blushing slightly.

"We don't know if his aggressiveness will hurt her too, though," Levy posited. "Or if she'll be forced into something."

"Then we should probably tell Master," Juvia said. "And have Warren communicate your theory."

Cana grinned. "Let's do it then, we don't really have time to waste."

"I just hope it's not too late," Yukino sighed, as they followed Juvia back to the guild hall.

~

Kinana woke up in a soft bed she didn't recognize. She felt warm, she realized, and tuned her head to see Erik sleeping next to her. Blushing wildly, she looked down to see her clothes were thankfully on.

Wondering how she got here, she shifted slightly to sit up and maybe find out where she was. The last thing she remembered was picking up her purse to go to the guild. It didn't take much to figure out she never made it there.

"What're you doing?" Erik asked behind her. She turned to see him still lying there, eyes open.

"I..how did I get here?" she asked, her voice quiet and nervous.

"I brought you here, Kinana," he explained as if it were obvious, sitting up as well. "I needed to see you, you've been on my mind all day,"

Kinana blushed, but in the back of her mind, she was concerned for her safety. He growled.

"I didn't kidnap you!"

She startled at that, having forgotten he could hear her thoughts. "I..they were expecting me at work, Erik. They're probably looking for me."

"They can wait," he said, getting up. "I don't know why, but I needed to see you today, more than anything."

His behavior surprised her, he was never so direct. "Can I call them, at least? Let them know I'm ok?"

He paused, and she saw the gears in his head turning, weighing options. "You can...if it keeps them from coming for you."

She blinked. How peculiar.